Exile as “Place” for Empathy

Authors

Ilana Maymind, Chapman UniversityFollow

Files

Description

"Historically, exile has been a political act that has various philosophical and psychological ramifications. In the Roman world, exile was a substitute for physical death.¹ Adorno argues that exile is a 'life in suspension' as a result of being placed in the diasporic conditions of estrangement. For Adorno, 'it is part of morality not to be at home in one’s home,'² since being in exile makes one a perpetual stranger and sharpens one’s ethical stance. The idea of being a stranger leads to the significance of the issue of empathy. In this chapter, I discuss Shinran and Maimonides as I maintain that the focus in some of their writings demonstrates the effects of exile as 'place' for empathy. I further propose a link between empathy and ethics by viewing empathy as a measure of genuine ethical concern."

ISBN

9780824876586

Publication Date

2019

Publisher

University of Hawai'i Press

City

Honolulu, HI

Disciplines

Migration Studies | Other Philosophy

Recommended Citation

Maymind, Ilana. “Exile as ‘Place’ for Empathy.” In Philosophies of Place: An Intercultural Conversation, edited by Peter D. Hershock and Roger T. Ames, 271–87. University of Hawai’i Press, 2019.

Copyright

University of Hawai'i Press